UFC 181 Loses Weidman-Belfort, Gains a More Anticipated Main Event

23 Sep 2014

UFC 181 lost its main event on Monday. The subtraction proved addition.

Middleweight champion Chris Weidman suffered a hairline fracture in his hand, pushing back his December bout with Vitor Belfort to February. In the place of the middleweight championship fight, fans get a more highly-anticipated welterweight title bout.

Weidman has a hairline fracture. It will be casted 4 weeks, cleared in 6. He’ll be fighting Vitor in February now.

UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks will defend his title against Robbie Lawler at UFC 181. Since their first fight in March, Hendricks has recuperated from biceps surgery. Lawler has stayed busy, destroying Jake Ellenberger and defeating Matt Brown. Lawler unleashed massive shots on Hendricks in their spring fight, starring in most of the fight’s highlight-reel moments. But Hendricks demonstrated the heart of a champion by rallying in the final frame to capture a unanimous, at least among the official judges, decision.

The stacked Las Vegas card also witnesses the return of Anthony Pettis, one of the most exciting fighters in mixed-martial arts, who defends his lightweight belt against Gilbert Melendez. In addition to a heavy-hitting heavyweight battle between Travis Browne and Brendan Schaub, UFC 181 also sees the return of Todd Duffee, whose seven-second knockout of Tim Hague at UFC 102 set a record in stoppage efficiency.